Shores Planning Commission Tables Solar Ordinance

After months and months of work to develop an ordinance to regulate solar panels in Grosse Pointe Shores, the planning commission voted early Tuesday to table to its decision until the next meeting.

The decision came after a new commission member, Alan Broad, suggested the proposed ordinance was not detailed enough and needed to be enhanced significantly.

Another commissioner, Alex DePetro, opposed making the ordinance more detailed, explaining he understood the chief purpose of creating such an ordinance to was to address aesthetic concerns. Secondarily, he said, he believed it would address public safety issues for emergency responders.

Planning Commissioner Planner Chris McLeod said the ordinance was written in such a manner that it requires any person wishing to install solar panels to follow electrical and building codes. It also includes a special land use requirement, which McLeod said allows the planning commission to impose more requirements or restrictions on a case-by-case basis as necessary to each individual request.

The draft discussed Tuesday of the proposed ordinance requires the following:

• No freestanding solar panels.
• Solar panels installed on a roof must not come within three feet of a peak or valley to ensure accessibility.
• The solar panels must not be higher than six inches above the current roof.
• The solar panels must have an automatic shut off that can be employed in the event of an emergency, such as a fire.
• The solar panels must have non-reflective surfaces and match the existing roof closely so as to be less noticeable.
• Installation of solar panels will require the approval of the planning commission and require a special land use permit.
• Installation shall not require clearcutting or extensive removal of trees or greenery.

The commissioners made some changes to the draft, including a clause allowing exceptions to the provisions addressing the height of the panels and the placement. This means if an applicant could show good reason for the panels to extend higher than six-inches from the roofline or closer to a particular peak or valley, the planning commission could make an exception to allow it.

They also removed one requirement that stated the solar panels should "not impact or otherwise interfere with solar access on adjacent properties."

Tuesday marked the public hearing on the proposed ordinance but no one from the public attended or spoke to the planning commission.

Broad said his review of the draft as an attorney found several problems, including a lack of definitions, a lack of consistency in wording and not enough detail to actually regulate. He said he wants to see more detail about the maintenance requirements of solar panels once they are installed and the installation process itself. 

DePetro argued against it, saying the more detailed an ordinance gets the more at risk the city puts itself. He used the example of plumbing or electrical, both of which require permits for installation and inspection for approval but neither of which require maintenance inspections.

McLeod said the proposed ordinance was drafted more generally to make it user friendly for a longer time frame. The technology is constantly evolving—as many pointed out during the hearing—and if the ordinance is written too specifically it will require constant editing and approval from council.

The commission voted unanimously to table the topic until their next meeting, March 27, at which time Broad intends to have a second draft for the commissioners review. They can then compare and contrast, he said.

The planning commission began talking about solar panels nearly a year ago when a resident requested a construction permit to tear off the roof and install the energy-saving devices. Their talk began more generally but as the project at that house progressed so did the conversations about regulating such installations.

Commission Chairwoman Mary Matuja previously told Patch the house spurred the commission to consider the impact the panels have on the aesthetics of the home as well as the impact upon neighboring properties. She requested a moratorium in October on solar panels until an ordinance could be drafted and approved, which the council granted and has since extended.

The temporary moratorium remains in place on the installation of solar panels awaiting the outcome of the proposed ordinance, which is set to expire in late March.

Patrick McCarroll, the commissioner who chaired Tuesday's public hearing, voiced concerns about the expiration of the moratorium but City Manager Brian Vick said the council could vote to extend it at either of the next two council meetings if it so desires.